It has been found that certain levels of bleach activators and peroxygen bleaching compounds can be used with certain levels of protease enzymes in bleaching compositions to obtain surprisingly effective dingy soil clean-up. The combined effect of the bleach activators, peroxygen bleaching compound and the proteases, which hydrolyzes protein based stains, is greater in this bleaching composition than expected, especially in light of the fact that bleach is known to oxidize enzymes. Without meaning to be limited by theory, it is believed that at these levels, there is a synergy between the bleach activator/peroxygen bleaching compound and the protease so that the combined cleaning effect of the two is greater than the additive effect of each one separately.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved cleaning and bleaching compositions using bleaching compounds and protease enzymes. It is another object herein to provide a means for removing dingy soils and stains from fabrics using the bleaching systems and protease enzymes of this invention. These and other objects are secured herein, as will be seen from the following disclosures.